[SWE] Brazil invests in the environment with Scania ethanol buses

São Paulo, Brazil − with its many millions of inhabitants − is taking another step towards sustainable development. The city’s mayor, Gilberto Kassab, announced on 25 November that Scania ethanol buses will become part of the public transport system. The first 50 buses will go into service in May 2011.

“The use of ethanol as a vehicle fuel is the best example of what can be done here and now in sustainable development work. Ethanol accounts for 90 percent of the renewable fuel available in the world. By delivering ethanol buses to São Paulo, Scania is helping to strengthen Brazil’s leading position in reducing climate impact,” says Melker Jernberg, Senior Vice President and head of Scania Buses and Coaches.

There are a total of some 15,000 public transport buses in São Paulo. One official environmental target is that all such buses should operate on renewable fuels by no later than 2018.

“Since the supply of biogas is limited, ethanol will be the dominant biofuel. This means there is very large potential for Scania, which is the only manufacturer of heavy-duty buses with ethanol-powered engines,” says Wilson Pereira, head of sales of Buses and Coaches at Scania Brasil.

Scania is receiving the ethanol bus order after a few years of field trials in São Paulo, coordinated by experts with links to the University of São Paulo and with participation by ethanol suppliers, bus bodybuilders, operators and São Paulo transport authorities.

“The initiative has shown that ethanol-powered buses are ready to operate in Brazil, immediately helping to replace the use of fossil fuel with a renewable source and offering a tremendous advantage in emission reduction,” says Wilson Pereira.

­The new Scania buses will be manufactured in Brazil. Chassis assembly will take place at Scania’s production unit in São Paulo and bodywork will be done by a local company, and will operate in São Paulo, where transport authority SPTrans is aiming at an initial fleet of 200 ethanol buses.